As I got more and more involved in manga I began to notice that in the character profile pages blood types were mentioned. The first time I saw it I thought the author was just being funny/cute about some irrelevant fact about the character. But soon I began noticing it in all my series. Although I raised an eyebrow at that random fact I never really bothered to look up why it was mentioned. I just thought that blood type was a physical characteristic that the Japanese liked to share and nothing more.

Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei (Goodbye Mr. Despair) is a show about a teacher named Nozomu Itoshiki who interprets everything in life in the most negative light possible. In the opening of the series Kafuka Fuura comes across him trying to hang himself from a tree and saves him (although she nearly kills him in the process). It turns out that she is an individual that sees everything in the most positive light possible. Throughout the series each episode focuses on some part of Japanese culture or human nature and we witness Nozomu’s negative interpretation as well as Kafuka’s positive interpretation. The result is an anime thats a wonderful satire on everything in Japanese culture (yes including a lot of anime references).

In this world Yoma are the terror of humanity, they are physically superior to humans and feed on human guts. Yoma also possess the ability to shapeshift and can obtain the memories of a human by devouring their brains, as a result they can blend seamlessly into society. The only way for villages to fight back against a Yoma infestation is to summon a Claymore, although they must be prepared to pay a fee. A Claymore is a female warrior that was born human and was later merged with the flesh of Yoma to become a half-Yoma. This merging causes the warriors to have silver eyes and light hair giving them an ethereal look. However, as they release more of their Yoma powers their eyes become gold, and their faces will distort. Although humans need Claymores to fight back against Yoma they fear these warriors almost as much as the Yoma themselves.

Fumihiko Matsumaru is an unlucky guy. None of the projects he has proposed in his advertising department have been accepted and he has just been stood up by a woman in accounting to see Roman Holiday (yes thats right the Hollywood movie staring Audrey Hepburn). As Fumihiko is about to throw out his tickets he encounters a cheerful girl (she is 20) who asks him not to throw out the tickets. Being an Audrey Hepburn fanatic she drags him to see the movie with her and cheers him up with dinner after. He learns that she is an aspiring voice actress whose greatest wish it is to someday do the voice of Audrey Hepburn in a Japanese dubbing. They walk most of the way home together and realize they’re neighbors. Although they only casually acknowledge this and go their separate ways without learning each others names. (THE END!…just kidding)

Jigoku Shojo (Hell Girl) has a cool concept, it centers on Hell’s Correspondence which is a web site that can only be accessed at midnight by those with a deep grudge, you submit the name of the one whom you wish to punish and the Jigoku Shojo (Hell Girl) will appear before you. The Jigoku Shoujo, Enma Ai, offers to immediately send that person to hell for you…however after you die you will have to pay a price by going to hell for all eternity as well. She then hands you a straw doll with a red string around its neck, if you wish to make the contract with her you simply must pull the string.

Each episode focuses on those who access Hell’s Correspondence and the events that push them to the point of damning themselves to hell for a bit of revenge. Eventually a detective and his daughter show up in each episode and act as a link and a developing plot between all the episodes as they attempt to stop Enma Ai and those she makes contracts with.